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bearcat

bearcat

4 9.9
An animal from Southeast Asia with shaggy black fur and a long tail that can hold branches
  • noun
  • /ˈbɪrˌkæt/
translation icon : binturong
  • Gate City had beaten Virginia High the previous three times they'd met, and few gave the Bearcats a chance.

Examples

  • But here the Bearcats are, in early March, still playing, still in the hunt for a state title.

    Blog text (3)
  • The Bearcats returned five kicks for 63 yards for an average of 12.6 a return.

    Blog text (11)
  • At times, the Bearcats have looked dominant.

    Blog text (3)
  • In his second season at VHS, he now has the Bearcats among the state's final eight.

    Blog text (3)
  • Balance has been the buzzword all season for the Bearcats.

    Blog text (3)
  • Jones told a crowd at a UC basketball game that the Bearcats would emerge as the ranked team on Saturday.

    Blog text (12)
  • The Bearcats went 8 for 14 from 3-point range in the first half and led 42-33 at the break.

    Blog text (13)
  • The Bearcats rushed for 156 yards on 46 carries for an average of about 3.4 yards per carry.

    Blog text (11)
  • Scarlet Knights run with the ball against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the game at Nippert Stadium on November 17, 2012, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

    Blog text (12)
  • The bearcat is known for its shaggy black fur and long prehensile tail as it climbs through the trees.

Synonyms

binturong
vsbearcat
9.9

A large, furry animal that lives in trees in Southeast Asia and uses its long tail like a hand

is the same animal but given as the entry headword
Arctictis
vsbearcat
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of large tree-living mammals that includes the binturong of Southeast Asia

refers to the same species using the common descriptive name
bear cat
vsbearcat
9.9

A large reddish-brown mammal like a raccoon that lives in trees in Southeast Asia

describes it instead as shaggy black fur and a long prehensile tail

How Big

Kodiak bear
  • US
1 5.5
polar bear
  • US
37 1.1
brown bear
6 1.9
black bear
  • US
11 1.0
bearcat
4 9.9

Surface Forms

bearcat singular
bearcats plural

Morphology

bearcat = bear + cat (semi-transparent) = bear + cat

The compound clearly signals an animal and suggests features of both 'bear' and 'cat', but it names a specific species (binturong) whose exact characteristics are not deducible from the parts alone.

Etymology

Bearcat is an English nickname that joins bear and cat because the animal looks a little like both, a helpful picture to remember it by. Its true name comes from Malay binturong, and the animal lives in trees with shaggy black fur and a long tail that can grasp branches, so bearcat tells you both how it looks and how it moves.